Jul 14, 2009 7:31 pm US/Pacific
Schwarzenegger, Teachers Duel Over School Budgets
BURLINGAME (CBS 5) ―
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An ad by Gov. Governor Schwarzenegger and one by the California Teachers Association are at odds over budget cuts to education. But Californians may be surprised to learn how little the schools are actually being cut, according to the non-partisan Legislative Analyst's Office.
The California Teachers Association had its board meeting at union headquarters in Burlingame Tuesday, with members bracing for the worst: the Governor's threat to suspend Proposition 98, which is supposed to set minimum funding for schools.
"If he suspends 98, it could have a very serious impact on some of our schools," said David A. Sanchez. "Many of our schools could possibly lose more teachers. For sure you'd probably see increased class sizes. Counselors, librarians, nurses, the arts, music and drama, P.E., could possibily all be eliminated in order to meet the suspension of 98."
But new figures from the state's non-partisan Legislative Analyst's Office shows per-pupil spending in K-through-12 classrooms has been holding steady, all through these recessionary years.
In the 2007-2008 budget year, schools received $8,600 per pupil. In 2008-2009, schools will get $8,340 per pupil. And in 2009-2010, they will get $8,584 per pupil, even after the Governor's cuts. That's only a decrease of $19 per student, from two years ago. It's because federal stimulus money has made up the difference.
But the CTA's David Sanchez said that's not his understanding.
"I believe our numbers obviously don't equate to that," he replied. "Our numbers show that the percentage of dollars lost per kid per classroom is significantly higher than that."
Still, critics of school spending say Prop 98 should be suspended, since the belt-tightening is statewide.
Bay Area Republican Vice Chair Morgan Kelley said, "I think it's got to be one of the things that's out there, and I'm not necessarily talking about cutting teachers. There are other things that can be cut in education."
"I think there's a huge amount of waste," Kelley added. "We're spending one out of every two tax dollars (on) education and we don't have a really good education system in California!"
And these days, every state dollar is under a microscope.
17,000 teachers have been laid-off this year. And many more don't know if they'll have jobs in August. All of this is the result of California's budget crisis, which, so far, has not been solved in Sacramento.
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